County Meet Ceremonies December 2

The annual National County Sports Meet, which serves as a driving force for unity in Liberia, will kick off this weekend around the country.

The official program marking this annual national sporting event takes place tomorrow, Friday, in the coastal city of Buchanan in Grand Bassa County.

The opening ceremonies, under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, will be characterized by a parade through the principal streets of Buchanan by various teams representing the fifteen counties of Liberia, as well as an indoor program.

The actual actions begin on Saturday with Grand Bassa playing host to Grand Cape Mount in kickball and football at the Doris Williams Sports Stadium in Buchanan. 

The nationwide tournament is held annually with the objectives of uniting Liberians and discovering new talents for the various national teams, as well as other clubs.
Assistant Youth and Sports Minister Murphy Gray expressed his Ministry’s gratitude to the People of Grand Bassa for accepting the request to host the opening events.

Gray further disclosed that the Government of Liberia provided $555,000USD (five hundred and fifty Five-thousand United State dollars) for the National County Sports Meet.  The tournament will feature five sporting disciplines namely kickball, soccer, basketball, volley ball and track and field.

Though champions of the various disciplines were awarded cash prizes without medals at the end of the 2009 county meet, discussions were underway for medal presentation.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports wants all citizens, spectators and sport lovers across the country to grace the tournament with the spirit of unity and harmony, avoiding tensions and conflicts during the various matches across the country.

Meanwhile, the Paynesville Sub-committee of the Liberia Football Association has commenced its 3rd and 4th division league. 

The Vice chairman for operation at the Paynesville Sub-committee, Matthew Geeza said that there were challenges to be addressed, including logistics. Geeza complained about the failure of the LFA to release all equipment for the league to the local sub-committee. 

At the moment, he noted, the FA has only provided five soccer balls for the commencement of the league.   According to the Sub-Committee Vice President, the cancellation of the registration fees for the various clubs is negatively impacting the functions of the committee. 

The committee requests the FA to increase its support to seal the gaps created by the abolition of club fees.